Individuals or entities entering into procurement contracts cannot pass on losses to cultivators under the new farm laws, V.K.Singh, Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, said on Sunday.
Mr. Singh said during a press briefing here on Sunday that there was no cause for fear about not getting the assured price in the event of the contractor incurring loss in business with the third party.
“The pact between the farmer and the contractor under the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 would specifically govern the business transaction between the farmers and the contractors.
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“Under the agreement, the contractor who would be procuring the agriculture produce for a third party by entering into an agreement with the farmers will have to absorb the loss if the third party backed out, he explained.
“Also, any dispute arising between the farmer and the contractor could be settled at the district-level itself. There will be no need to approach courts or spend money on litigation.”
The farmers who have been staging protests at New Delhi against these laws have expressed preference to settle such issues through Courts.
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Claiming that agriculture lands would remain under ownership of the farmers under the contract system, Mr. Singh said there were also provisions in the Act for additional benefits to farmers in case the contractor reaps extra benefits due to escalation in cost of produce in the market towards the end of the contract period.
“Moreover, the farmers were freed from the clutches of commission agents who have been fixing the price for the agriculture produce.”
The provisions in the F(EP)APAFS Act and in the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Protection and Facilitation) Act, 2020, enables the farmers to fix the price for their produce and also chose the market of their choice to get a better price for their produce, he pointed out.
The ongoing agitation at the border of National Capital Territory of New Delhi was politically motivated; farmers must not be misled by distorted versions of the farm laws being spread by the opposition parties. The onus was on the farmers to understand the benefits inherent in the new laws in the interests of their livelihood, Mr. Singh said.
